workplace culture
professional. These figures suggest that despite some progress,
stigma remains a significant hurdle when individuals are faced
with mental disorders.
These findings are especially relevant to employers. People
spend a large part of their day at work and simply can’t put aside
their mental health challenges while on the job. Mental disorders
can directly contribute to decreased productivity and if allowed to
progress without treatment, can result in prolonged absence and
disability leave. Employers have an opportunity to take an active
role in creating a mental health strategy that reinforces the need
for open dialogue and reduced stigma at work. Although a mental
health strategy should reflect the unique needs of a given work-place,
any successful strategy is based on three foundational goals:
1. Creating and strengthening a workplace culture that is
respectful of mental well-being. This can include initiatives
such as training managers to recognize signs of mental
health issues in employees, employee training on respecting
professional boundaries and workplace civility or instituting
the standards for psychological health and safety in the
workplace developed by the Mental Health Commission
of Canada.
2. Developing tools and resources that promote mental well-being,
such as providing Employee and Family Assistance
Programs, legitimizing mental health days as part of an
employee’s sick-day allotment or posting information on
mental health issues in the workplace.
3. Measuring the impact of the strategy in order to guide its
ongoing development by comparing data on total work absences
and productivity pre-post implementation of the strategy.
PEOPLE SPEND
A LARGE PART
OF THEIR DAY
AT WORK AND
SIMPLY CAN’T
PUT ASIDE THEIR
MENTAL HEALTH
CHALLENGES
WHILE ON
THE JOB.
According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada the
top three actions taken by employers in their efforts to create a
psychologically healthy workplace were:
1. Implementing respectful workplace policies. All too often
mental disorders are triggered by workplace harassment
or bullying, managerial practices that place unreasonable
expectations on workers and ignore the importance of a
healthy lifestyle balance or fail to affirm and adequately reward
worker’s efforts.
2. Providing employee and family assistance programs and
extended health benefits that offer meaningful coverage for
mental health services. Early access to services that don’t place
a financial burden on workers and their families can have a
preventative impact.
3. Building and enhancing awareness of mental health among
employees. For example, providing a lunch and learn session
focused on self-care and mental health, performing annual
mental health checkups or building promotional activities
throughout the year.
Mental health crosses all boundaries and touches people at every
stage of life and despite how common mental illnesses are amongst
Canadians, some continue to suffer in silence. It’s clear that social
stigma still surrounds mental health across Canada and employers
have the opportunity to make a difference on this national issue by
creating a safe and supportive workplace for their employees. n
Dr. Sam Mikail is a clinical psychologist at Sun Life
Financial Canada.
hayaship / 123RF Stock Photo
34 ❚ AUGUST 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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